I
first want to
thank you for
inviting me to
address you
today. One of
the best parts
of my job is
getting out into
the field, to
visit the
lawyers and
judges who work
on the front
lines every day.
So I appreciate
this opportunity
you’ve provided
for me to visit
Danbury.

And as I
offer you the
following
observation, let
me just add that
I have not a
scintilla of
evidence to
support what I’m
about to say.
However, I do
think I can
safely speculate
that if you
asked a group of
people to name
five historical
figures whom
they would have
most liked to
meet, that
President
Abraham Lincoln
would be in the
top three time
after time.

Why is that?
Why our
fascination with
a gangly man
whose shirt
sleeves and
pants legs
always struggled
to reach their
intended
destination? Why
our reverence
for a country
boy who grew up
in the back
woods of
Kentucky and
Indiana and once
told someone,
“If I were
two-faced, would
I be wearing
this one?”

I think the
answer is within
the many
different layers
of Abraham
Lincoln. There
is, for example,
the triumph and
wisdom of a
determined,
self-taught
pioneer who
overcame a
difficult
childhood to
achieve the
highest office
in the land.
There is the
tragedy of a
father losing
his own sons and
sending to war
other people’s
sons, knowing
that the certain
deaths of
thousands would
break their
parents’ hearts.
And then there
is the tapestry
of everything in
between – the
humanity of a
man who found
time to write a
sweet letter to
an 11-year-old
girl who
suggested that
he “let your
whiskers grow”
threaded
together with
the resolute,
shrewd
politician who
managed a
country, his
Cabinet and a
colorful group
of headstrong
generals.

That
resoluteness was
most necessary
during the four
years where we
know Lincoln the
best, when his
overriding goal
was to keep this
nation as one.
As battles raged
in places called
Antietam,
Chancellorsville,
Vicksburg, and
Gettysburg, that
objective
rightfully
evolved to
include the
abolition of
slavery.

It really is
quite a
remarkable
record for a man
who was on this
Earth just 56
years. How, I
ask myself,
could someone
possibly stay on
track with that
kind of an
agenda on his
plate?

The task is
even more
daunting when
you consider the
changes that
occurred
throughout his
lifetime. In
1809, the year
of Lincoln’s
birth, the web
site HistoryOrb
tells us that
Robert Fulton
patented the
steamboat; the
first U.S.
geology book was
published; the
U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that
federal
government was
greater than any
state; and James
Madison became
the first
president
inaugurated in
American-made
clothes.

Over the next
five decades,
Abraham
Lincoln’s
society changed
a great deal.
Between the
1830s and 1860s,
Wikipedia says,
railroads became
the primary
method of
transportation
over canals. The
Industrial
Revolution
continued to
change forever
how our country
would do
business both
within and
without, and
millions of
immigrants
arrived in our
country, hopeful
for a new and
promising
future. Our
borders grew,
our government
grew, our
population grew
and the great
cancer of
slavery grew.
And although he
had neither the
Internet nor
television news,
I am sure that
life spun just
as rapidly for
Lincoln and his
contemporaries
as it does for
us today.

I would
submit to you,
however, that
the lure of
Abraham Lincoln
to our wired
21st century
minds is that he
somehow stayed
grounded despite
all of the
turmoil. In a
nutshell, it is
that proverbial
inner compass
that we all hope
to develop,
along with the
resilience and
set of values
that are needed
to confront the
challenges that
any generation
faces.

How is that
relevant to us,
as officers,
judges and users
of our courts,
today? I would
answer that is
relevant in many
different ways.

You all have
heard the
phrase, “He/she
never forgot
where they came
from.” We
rightfully view
it as a
compliment and
one that could
easily apply to
Lincoln.

He was in
large part a
homespun lawyer
with a gift of
gab and a keen
awareness that
the real victory
for a client
often resulted
from mediation.
“Discourage
litigation,” he
once said.
“Persuade your
neighbors to
compromise
whenever you
can. As a
peacemaker, the
lawyer has
superior
opportunity of
being a good
man. There will
still be
business
enough.”

That
statement is as
true today as it
was in the
1800s. And, I
believe, a more
subtle but no
less important
message is this:
never lose the
ability to put
yourself in
someone else’s
shoes. More than
ever, we need to
retain our
humanity and our
goodness; I
would submit to
you in fact that
the stakes have
never been
higher. For if
we lose our
humanity, we
lose ourselves.
Lincoln
understood this
completely when
he said,
“America will
never be
destroyed from
the outside. If
we falter and
lose our
freedoms, it
will be because
we destroyed
ourselves.”

I believe too
that Lincoln
shows us the
wisdom of
approaching the
complex
challenges we
face with the
simplicity of
our core values.
Here was a man
who literally
stood on the
brink of America
destroying
itself – and in
my book that
surely qualifies
as a complicated
situation. Yet
amid this
crisis, he
seemed to gain
strength and
direction from
two documents
that have as
much meaning for
us today: the
Declaration of
Independence and
the U.S.
Constitution.
Put simply, he
had great faith
in the words of
our forefathers,
their form of
government, and
the people of
this great
nation. “I am a
firm believer in
the people,” he
once said. “If
given the truth,
they can be
depended upon to
meet any
national crisis.
The great point
is to bring them
the real facts.”

It’s
important to
note as well
Lincoln’s
reliance on the
input of others
– even those who
ripped him
apart. His
Cabinet alone
was enough to
shake the mettle
of a lesser
individual, but
through it all,
Lincoln somehow
managed to
become a better
leader. He
listened, he
collaborated, he
drew together
different
positions – but
in the end, the
decision made
was his own.

So as we deal
with our own
problems, I
would suggest to
you that we keep
our eye on our
mission, our
vision, and our
core values,
much as Lincoln
did. For if we
rely on these
basic principles
as our road map,
then we will not
lose our way.

As many of
you know, the
Judicial Branch
has spent the
past two years
refocusing on
its mission,
vision and core
values through
the development
of a strategic
plan that will
guide us over
the next three
to five years.
This plan, the
result of the
Public Service
and Trust
Commission
appointed by
Chief Justice
Chase T. Rogers,
will well serve
our judiciary
over the rocky
months to come.

Now, can I
stand here and
tell you that
Abraham Lincoln
guided the
development of
this plan? No, I
can’t. But make
no mistake
about, the
lessons of
Lincoln – even
if
unintentionally
so – are evident
throughout this
document.
Lessons such as:
Don’t be
deceived by
appearances.
Remember that
courtesy and the
little things
matter. Be
empathetic to
other people’s
situations. Amid
despair or
change, remember
what’s
important. Amid
complexity,
embrace
simplicity.
Stand your
ground when you
need to and
don’t look back.
Remind yourself
that an
adversarial
system doesn’t
preclude
mediation; in
fact, seek
peace. Be
accountable.
Seek input from
others but know
who the boss is.
Collaborate,
don’t destroy.

And finally,
remember who you
serve.
Ultimately, we
are not doing
what we do for
ourselves.
William Lee
Miller, the
brilliant author
of the book
Lincoln’s
Virtues put
it best when he
wrote: “His self
did not get in
the way.” Ladies
and gentlemen,
the true lesson
of Abraham
Lincoln for us,
today, is that
ourselves must
not get in the
way of our
duties and
responsibilities
to the people we
serve. That is
our greatest
task, and our
success will
make it easier
for our young
people to deal
with the many
complex
challenges that
they will
doubtless face.
To the
generations
before us and
the generations
to follow, we
owe no less --
and Abraham
Lincoln would
expect no less.

Thank you
again for the
opportunity to
speak to you. It
has been an
honor, and I
appreciate the
time you have
given me.